Under The Radar Dallas Cowboys

Author: Jack Casabonne

Editor: Brian Symons

With kickoff just around the corner, 53 man rosters have been finalized across the league. While it’s always painful to see players lose their jobs, it’s also a time where opportunities are created for under the radar players, such as undrafted free agents. In Dallas it was no different, where dreams came true for many. There will still be changes to the roster in the coming days, with CeeDee Lamb, Connor Williams, Carlos Watkins, Damontae Kazee, and Noah Brown all expected to be removed from the Covid-19 list. For now, however, three Cowboys players have realized their dream of making an NFL roster.

Israel Mukuamu:

With a roster as talented as the one in Dallas, most late round draft picks are seemingly competing for a practice squad spot, with little chance of cracking the 53 man roster in their first year. However, due to the Cowboys’ consistent valuation of their yearly draft classes, every draft pick made the roster. This wasn’t the only reason Israel Mukuamu ended up on the final roster, though. The former Gamecock had a phenomenal season, leaving the front office with no choice but to include him on the roster. In the preseason finale against Jacksonville, Mukuamu recorded an interception to go along with his six tackles. Standing at 6’4” and weighing 205 pounds, Mukuamu is a physical specimen. As just a 6th round draft choice, he has shown to be much more developed in his game than the team could have predicted, which bodes well for his chances of making a contribution this season, and certainly in the years to come.

Azur Kamara:

The Hard Knocks fan favorite seemed like a longshot to make the Cowboys roster at the beginning of training camp. However, Kamara showed significant improvement from his stint on the practice squad last season. As an undrafted free agent from Kansas, Kamara’s speed off the edge caught the eyes of Cowboys scouts. He has continued to put on size, with room to go. Currently listed at 6’4” and 235 pounds, this season will be all about continuing to make improvements in the weight room, as well as on the field. This is something that he will continue to focus upon, as the Ivory Coast native’s commitment to the game is apparent. With his family watching, Kamara made his presence known against the Cardinals in Dallas’ second preseason game. While his sack was called back due to a defensive penalty, his technicality at the point of attack was impressive, and definitely something that defensive coordinator Dan Quinn noticed.

Simi Fehoko:

One of the fanbase’s favorite draft selections, Simi Fehoko seemed like he was on the outside looking in due to the depth Dallas has at receiver. Headlined by arguably the best trio in football with Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb, and Michael Gallup, alongside veterans Cedrick Wilson and Noah Brown, the Cowboys are stacked at receiver. Yet, they couldn’t resist selecting the Stanford product in the 5th round. He boasts top end height, weight, and speed measurables, coming in at 6’4” 223 pounds, while running a blazing 40 timed in the 4.3’s. Fehoko is still extremely raw, so anticipate him making most of his contributions through special teams in 2021. With Michael Gallup’s impending free agency, Fehoko’s development will be a top priority for coaches and executives within Dallas, with the hope that he can one day secure that 3rd receiver spot.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

The Ins and Outs of September Call Ups

Author: Spencer Reyes

Editor: Fran Attie

As the 2021 MLB season is coming to a close, each team is being divided into groups: the playoff contenders, teams who can’t even compete, and fringe postseason teams.

Traditionally, fans are used to seeing around 30 players on their favorite team for the month of September, but COVID and the Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) negotiations have shaken up the normal rules we are used to for the last month of regular season baseball. For starters, the rosters will only expand by 2 players—moving from 26 to 28—and teams will still be able to add another player for doubleheaders.

The reason behind MLB teams using less players for September is because Minor League Baseball extended their season and postseason to end on October 3rd, which is around the the time the MLB’s regular season ends.

The top 2 Triple-A ballclubs in each division will play 10 more games to extend the season, including 5 at home and 5 away for each team. Thus, Triple-A teams will need their top players in the minor leagues to have the best chance at winning in this new playoff tournament.

Another regulation implemented due to the pandemic is that, if a player is vaccinated, they can be called up during September from any level in the minor leagues. If a player is unvaccinated, they must be called up or have spent their recent games at the Triple-A level before they can make the leap to “the show”.

The final change is that, if a rookie is called up during the month of September, the games he plays in will count towards his rookie eligibility. Normally, rookies wouldn’t allocate MLB service in the month of September, but MLB has taken advantage of the CBA negotiations and COVID to allow for this to change this season.

One thing to note is that not all of these rules will be in effect for 2022. The Players Union is allowing the MLB to experiment with these changes before they can agree on a new CBA for the next 10 years of professional baseball. The Players Union is very protective of their athletes, so if they feel that these rules directly affect how professional ballplayers will develop, then they will take action.

It will be interesting to see which players get the call up and which athletes stay down to help their teams win a championship. You can count on the SportUniverse to cover this last month of baseball before 12 teams get a chance to win the World Series trophy!

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

Expectations for the Lakers

Author: Raul Martinez

Editor: Fran Attie

After losing to the Phoenix Suns in 6 games of the first round of the 2020-21 Playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers are looking to reclaim their championship. During the offseason, Rob Pelinka acquired nine-time NBA All-Star Russell Westbrook and a few 3-point shooters. With a new season up ahead, the Lakers should be able to bring showtime back to LA.

One of the major factors in the Lakers' downfall last season was injuries. Anthony Davis suffered a few, including a strange calf issue that put him on the sidelines for nearly two months. And LeBron James missed about a month with a high ankle sprain, forcing him to appear less than 100 percent heading into the postseason. If the Lakers can stay relatively healthy, keeping two out of three stars they have, they should be around the top of the West. There's too much All-Star power and depth for them to fall in the standings.

As far as the schedule goes, the Lakers seem to have two major road trips. The first one being on November 17th, where the team will have to fly to play the Milwaukee Bucks, the reigning NBA champions. They will then have to face an all-time rival, the Boston Celtics. After that, they go against the Pistons and Knicks. They will finish the trip on November 24th against a scrappy Indiana Pacers team. The Lakers should be able to win at least three out of the five games. The second road trip is much more difficult, as they start against a young Orlando Magic team, on January 21st. After that game, they will battle the Heat, Nets, and 76ers. These three games will tell us how the Lakers are functioning as a team, and if they are true contenders. They then go on to face the Hornets and finish off with the Hawks on January 30th. If the Lakers can pull off 4 out of the 6 games, the league will all look towards them as the heavy favorites for the NBA title.

Overall, this season should be much more exciting than last. With the addition of Russell Westbrook, the Lakers should move at a much faster pace on both sides of the court. With three-point shooters on the wings, the Lakers can dominate inside the paint and out. All the team must do is build chemistry and stay healthy during the season. If they can accomplish these two goals, the Lakers will be nearly unstoppable.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE